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2023 Turkey Earthquake : Fake Photos + Scam Alert!

Please watch out for fake photos + videos, as well as donation scams capitalising on the devastating 2023 earthquake in Turkey!

2023 Turkey Earthquake : Fake Photos Alert!

Many people have been sharing photos of the massive earthquake that devastated both Turkey and Syria on 6 February 2023.

Unfortunately, quite a number of fake photos on WhatsApp and social media. They also appear in TikTok and YouTube videos. Here are a few notable examples.

Old Man With Bread

This photo of an old man with bread is being shared as a lesson on why we should be humble, respectful and kind.

It took just 17secs to change his status from the owner of 33 buildings to a person who’s surviving on bread and finding shelter where he can.

#TurkeyEarthquake teaches us an important lesson that life is unpredictable and nothing is permanent. Be humble, respectful and kind.

How being humble, respectful and kind could have helped this poor man was not explained. Neither did the people sharing this “lesson” explain why this photo has been circulating since 1999…

Yes, this photo was taken by photographer, Abdurrahman Antakyalı, almost 24 years ago, after the Düzce Earthquake that occurred on 12 November, 1999.

Needless to say, that old man was not a rich man who owned 33 buildings. It is incredible that people who create a fake story about this poor man. If there is a lesson to be learned, it is that everyone should “verify before sharing“!

Dog Looking For Survivor

Many people are sharing photos of dogs looking for survivors, like this example below, which was shared with messages like:

The little heroes will save many lives. Pray for Turkey.

This is incredible! A dog in Turkey was seen digging trying to rescue its owner. When the dog failed to move the heavy debris, he started barking to ask for help while holding one of his owner’s fingers!

Syrian🇸🇾 Turkish🇹🇷 Earthquakes!

Dogs are sensitive to their owner ❤️😊

The truth is – that is one of many stock images of “dogs looking for people in earthquake” available online.

That photo, and similar examples featuring the same dog as well as others dogs were posted by Czech photographer, Jaroslav Noska, on November 2020.

This suggests that the photos were staged for use as stock photos, and not actual photos of a real disaster area, or even real rescue dogs.

Tryon The Rescue Dog

Many people shared this photo of a dirty-looking dog, claiming that it just saved 10 lives in the 2023 earthquake in Turkey.

This dog worked all night last night and saved 10 lives

This dog hero who worked the whole night and saved 10 lives in Turkey.

The truth is – this is Tryon the rescue dog who helped to search for victims of a deadly mudslide near Oso, Washington, in the United States.

This photo was taken by Rick Wilking, a freelance photographer for Reuters, on March 30, 2014. He provided the following caption for this photo:

Tryon the rescue dog waits to go through the decontamination area at the mudslide after searching for victims in Oso, Washington March 30, 2014.

2023 Turkey Earthquake : Donation Scam Alert!

People are not just posting those fake photos to “virtue signal” or increase their popularity, some are using them for donation scams!

Photos of Tryon the rescue dog above, for example, is being used to solicit donations for the people in Syria.

(Need Some reputable or NGO in Syria to pay or food. Shelter, blankets the Earthquake affects from the donations if gathered from this page.

As Sanction Syria from all over the world needs our help. Turkey has been helping by many.

He (Reputable) or NGO must be at the Earthquake affected areas of Syria and make video or come live while giving blankets, food, donation etc. Thanks )

– Those who want to Help/Donate. Message us. Thanks!

Even more egregious is this photo of a firefighter holding a child with a Turkish flag on his sleeve.

Friends, we have launched an aid campaign to reach people who have experienced an #earthquake disaster in Turkey.

#btc B : 1)n3C4GiFCzERTWd6nvCc4hTzvK8Viz88y

#eth: Ox2cff2ad875£68bf4ec5a478e505767c348dd61d

#Suns suns

The trouble is – the photo isn’t real! It was created by Major General Panagiotis Kotridis of the Aegean fire brigade using the AI image generator called Midjourney.

While they are capable of creating really realistic images, such artificial intelligence image generators often leave tell-tale mistakes.

In the viral photo below, you can see that the firefighter has six fingers on his right hand with an abnormally long thumb. His left hand is also missing, with a third “hand?” right next to it.

The BBC investigated further, and found that one of the crypto wallet addresses had been used in scam and spam tweets since 2018, while the other crypto wallet address had been posted on VK – the Russian social media website, together with pornographic content.

Ax Sharma, a cybersecurity expert at Sonatype, also pointed out that scammers are creating fake disaster relief accounts on social media to cheat people. One example is @TurkeyRelief on Twitter, which was created in January 2023 with just 31 followers and asked for donations using PayPal.

Scammers are also using TikTok Live to ask for donations, using captions like “Let’s help Turkey”, “Pray for Turkey” and “Donate for earthquake victims” over their videos. According to the BBC, TikTok takes up to 70% of the proceeds of these digital gifts.

So please WATCH OUT for such donation scams, which use real or fake photos / videos to trick people into sending them money.

If you want to help, please donate DIRECTLY to reputable organisations like the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Médecins San Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), OxFam, or the nearest Turkish embassy.

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SBF Allegedly Hid $8 Billion In Korean Friend Account!

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The CFTC just alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried (better known as SBF) hid $8 billion of Alameda liabilities in a “Korean friend” account on the FTX crypto exchange!

SBF Allegedly Hid $8B Liabilities In Korean Friend Account!

In the spring of 2022, Alameda Research experienced a large number of margin and loan recalls following a major downturn in the crypto markets. To meet its external debt obligations, the trading firm “greatly increased” its usage of customer funds.

By the middle of 2022, Alameda’s total fiat liability with FTX was around $8 billion. That was when, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleged, Sam Bankman-Fried (better known as SBF) directed his executives to move approximately $8 billion of Alameda liabilities into an unknown customer account, which he would later refer to as “our Korean friend’s account” and/or “the weird Korean account”.

The CFTC added that even though this was a sub-account under Alameda, it was labelled as “FTX fiat old” and did not have the usual @alameda-research.com email account identifier. Instead, it was stored in an internal account in the FTX database as “fiat@ftx.com”

This allowed the liabilities in that account to be hidden on FTX ledgers. Yet, the “Korean friend” account had the same privileges as Alameda’s other accounts, including exemption from liquidation characteristics.

FTX Korean Friend Account Had Special Privileges!

The “Korean friend” account had privileges to execute a transaction on FTX, even if it did not have the funds to do so. It was accomplished through a piece of code labeled as “allow negative flag”.

Separately, Bloomberg reported on December 14, that a GitHub account under the name Nishad Singh (FTX’s former engineering director), created or annotated code linked to that “Korean friend” account.

Looking back at what SBF said about Alameda, the signs were there that Alameda Research was likely losing money hand over fist.

Back in September 2022, SBF said that they should have shut down Alameda Research a year ago – before it was hit by the crypto winter.

I only started thinking about this today, and so haven’t vetted it much yet. But I think it might be time for Alameda Research to shut down. Honestly, it was probably time to do that a year ago.

By the time he made that comment, SBF probably knew that it would be a matter of time before his house of cards came falling down…

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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SBF Flew Business As Judge Recuses From FTX Case!

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The FTX drama continues as SBF was seen flying business class, while Judge Ronnie Abrams recused herself from the case!

Judge Ronnie Abrams Recuses From SBF FTX Case!

The FTX drama continues with the shocking announcement by US District Judge Ronnie Abrams over a potential conflict of interest.

On Friday afternoon, December 23, Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York recused herself from the FTX case.

The judge’s husband, Greg D. Andres, is a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, which advised FTX in 2021. Though Andres himself did not personally advise FTX, Abrams chose to recuse herself from the case “to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one.”

The order also stated that Davis Polk & Wardwell previously represented parties “that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried,” though Andres allegedly did not represent those clients either.

RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge:

It has come to the Court’s attention that the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, at which my husband is a partner, advised FTX in 2021, as well as represented parties that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried in other proceedings (or potential proceedings). My husband has had no involvement in any of these representations. These matters are confidential and their substance is unknown to the Court. Nonetheless, to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one, the Court hereby recuses itself from this action. See 28

U.S.C. § 455.

This decision came just one day after Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was released from custody pending trial on eight criminal charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violations of federal campaign finance laws.

It is unknown why Judge Ronnie Abrams chose to wait until now to recuse herself from the FTX case. But it should be pointed that it was a different judge – Gabrial Gorenstein, who approved the record-setting $250 million bond that did not require SBF to pay a single cent up front.

A new judge from the Southern District of New York will now have to be selected to oversee Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial.

SBF Free + Flying Business On “No Cash Up Front” FTX Case Bail!

In the meantime, the disgraced FTX co-founder was spotted “chilling” in the American Airlines Greenwich Business Class lounge located at Terminal 8 of the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City.

Sam Bankman-Fried was accompanied by his parents, FBI agents and lawyers. He had full access to what looks like an Acer Predator gaming laptop, and a smartphone. When he was asked for a photo, SBF replied, “Haha maybe not today“.

You may recall that, on December 9, SBF claimed that he did not have access to (much of) his professional or personal data, despite having obvious access to a laptop and a mobile phone.

1) I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like. But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th.

SBF was later spotted in the Business class section of an American Airlines flight, “disguised with a beanie”. He appeared to be engaged in conversation with a suited executive.

The suited executive could be his lawyer, Mark Cohen, who may have been accompanying the disgraced FTX co-founder to his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, where he has to serve his house arrest while awaiting trial.

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SBF Released On “No Cash” $250 Million Bail Bond!

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Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has been released on a “no cash up front” $250 million bail bond!

SBF Released On “No Cash Up Front” $250 Million Bail Bond!

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has been released on a $250 million bond, but guess what – it does not actually require him to come up with the cash.

Instead, the release agreement showed that SBF was being released on a $250 million personal recognisance bond that was secured by his parents’ five-bedroom home in Palo Alto.

If SBF fails to appear in court, or violate other conditions of his bail, then the property would be seized. That property is estimated to be worth only $4 million.

In addition to his two parents, the bond must be signed by two other people (one of whom cannot be a relative) by January 5, 2023; and they would all be on hook for the $250 million bail.

This “no cash up front” bail deal was worked out between SBF’s legal team and US prosecutors, which included his agreement to be extradited to the United States.

New York federal court Judge Gabriel Gorenstein released him, subject to detention at his parents’ home while wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, with mandatory mental health counselling and substance abuse treatment.

SBF had to surrender his passport under the bail agreement, and was stricter to travel to the Northern District of California, or the Southern and Eastern districts of New York for court appearances.

This was a fraud of epic proportions. If that was the only test, detention would likely be appropriate. But he voluntarily consented to extradition. That should be given weight.

If he had resisted, we would have opposed release. But his assets have diminished. This is a financial crime and he no longer works for FTX or Alameda. So the risk to the community is a marginal consideration. We propose a restrictive bail package.

– Assistant US Attorney Nick Roos

Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted on all eight counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, money laundering, and violating campaign finance laws in his cryptocurrency exchange company, FTX.

His next hearing is set for January 3, 2022, and his defence is expected to be complicated by the fact that two of his chief lieutenants – Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty and are now cooperating with investigations.

But until that he is convicted, SBF will be free to enjoy life at home, catching up on Netflix or the computer games he loves to play. Living with his parents may not be what every 30+ young man likes, but it sure beats jail in the Bahamas!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

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Both Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang just pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange!

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang – two close partners of Sam Bankman-Fried, plead guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. They are now helping investigators with their investigations, in exchange for reduced sentencing.

The charges, guilty pleas and their cooperation with investigators occurred earlier, but was kept quiet until Sam Bankman-Fried (better know as SBF) was safely on a flight to the US from the Bahamas after he agreed to voluntary extradition.

SBF landed in New York at 10 PM local time on December 21, and Southern District of New York attorney Damian Williams announced that Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty to charges “related to their roles in the fraud that contributed to FTX’s collapse”.

As I said last week, this investigation is ongoing and moving very quickly. I also said last week’s announcement would not be our last and let me be clear once again, neither is today’s.

I’m announcing that SDNY has filed charges against Caroline Ellison […] and Gary Wang […] in connection with their roles in the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse. Both Ms. Ellison and Mr. Wang have plead guilty to those charges and both are cooperating with the SDNY.

Caroline Ellison was the head of Alameda Research – the trading firm started by SBF, which allegedly had “a virtually unlimited line of credit” funded by FTX customers. A former Google employee and MIT graduate, Gary Wang co-founded FTX with Sam Bankman-Fried.

Ellison plead guilty to seven charges, which could result in up to 110 years of jail time. Gary Wang plead guilty to four charges. However, more charges could follow if investigators find evidence of other crimes.

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Also Faces SEC Charges

These criminal charges were paired with civil charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused Ellison, Wang and Sam Bankman-Fried of securities violations related to FTX’s cryptocurrency, FTT.

The SEC also noted that both Ellison and Wang are cooperating with its ongoing investigations.

Washington D.C., Dec. 21, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) Wang, the former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), for their roles in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX, the crypto trading platform co-founded by Samuel Bankman-Fried and Wang. Investigations into other securities law violations and into other entities and persons relating to the alleged misconduct are ongoing.

According to the SEC’s complaint, between 2019 and 2022, Ellison, at the direction of Bankman-Fried, furthered the scheme by manipulating the price of FTT, an FTX-issued exchange crypto security token, by purchasing large quantities on the open market to prop up its price. FTT served as collateral for undisclosed loans by FTX of its customers’ assets to Alameda, a crypto hedge fund owned by Wang and Bankman-Fried and run by Ellison. The complaint alleges that, by manipulating the price of FTT, Bankman-Fried and Ellison caused the valuation of Alameda’s FTT holdings to be inflated, which in turn caused the value of collateral on Alameda’s balance sheet to be overstated, and misled investors about FTX’s risk exposure.

In addition, the complaint alleges that, from at least May 2019 until November 2022, Bankman-Fried raised billions of dollars from investors by falsely touting FTX as a safe crypto asset trading platform with sophisticated risk mitigation measures to protect customer assets and by telling investors that Alameda was just another customer with no special privileges; meanwhile, Bankman-Fried and Wang improperly diverted FTX customer assets to Alameda. The complaint alleges that Ellison and Wang knew or should have known that such statements were false and misleading.

The complaint also alleges that Ellison and Wang were active participants in the scheme to deceive FTX’s investors and engaged in conduct that was critical to its success. The complaint alleges that Wang created FTX’s software code that allowed Alameda to divert FTX customer funds, and Ellison used misappropriated FTX customer funds for Alameda’s trading activity. The complaint further alleges that, even as it became clear that Alameda and FTX could not make customers whole, Bankman-Fried, with the knowledge of Ellison and Wang, directed hundreds of millions of dollars more in FTX customer funds to Alameda.

The SEC is calling for a civil penalty, and a ban for Ellison and Wang to ever serve as a company director or officer, as well as “disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains”, and an injunction against future securities violations and limiting them to only buy and sell securities for their own accounts.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, has just been charged with fraud by the SEC.

Take a look at the charges the SEC brought against SBF, and find out what they reveal about the fraud committed at FTX!

FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

On Monday, December 12, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried who is popularly known as SBF in the cryptocurrency community.

SBF was arrested after the United States government formally notified the Bahamas government that it filed criminal charges and is likely to request his extradition.

The Attorney General of the Bahamas then ordered SBF’s arrest, to hold him in custody until a formal request for extradition comes forth. Then the Bahamas intends to process the extradition request “promptly”.

SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged SBF with “orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX)”.

The SEC also sought injunctions against future securities law violations, an injunction against SBF participating in securities (except for his personal account), the disgorgement of his “ill-gotten gains”, a civil penalty, and barring him from being an officer or director of any company.

“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws.”

FTX Customer Funds Funnelled To Alameda

The SEC accused SBF of funnelling FTX customer funds to Alameda Research, which were then used to fund speculative investments, and provide large loans to Bankman-Fried and top FTX executives.

Customer Funds Used For Real Estate Purchases

SBF allegedly used the commingled funds from Alameda to pay for massive real estate purchases, including office space and luxury condominiums in The Bahamas.

“FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy Mr. Bankman-Fried created by, among other things, touting its best-in-class controls, including a proprietary ‘risk engine,’ and FTX’s adherence to specific investor protection principles and detailed terms of service. But as we allege in our complaint, that veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

Customer Funds Used For Political Contributions

The SEC also alleged that SBF used commingled funds to fund political contributions. He was one of the top political donors in the 2022 election cycle.

SBF Was Both Borrower + Lender

According to the SEC, Sam Bankman-Fried was both the borrower and the lender in two instances. SBF also executed more than $1 billion from promissory notes for loans from Alameda Research.

SBF Accused Of Misleading Investors

The SEC also alleged that SBF misled investors into believing that FTX was a safe and responsible crypto asset trading platform, thus allowing FTX to raise more than $1.8 billion in funds from 90 US investors.

FTX Exposure To Alameda Not Disclosed

The SEC also alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried failed to disclose FTX’s deep exposure to Alameda, or how he was diverting FTX customer funds to Alameda for its own trading operations, or other purposes that SBF saw fit.

There was no meaningful distinction between FTX customer funds and Alameda’s own funds. Bankman-Fried thus gave Alameda carte blanche to use FTX customer assets for its own trading operations and for whatever other purposes Bankman-Fried saw fit.

The complaint alleges that, in reality, Bankman-Fried orchestrated a years-long fraud to conceal from FTX’s investors

(1) the undisclosed diversion of FTX customers’ funds to Alameda Research LLC, his privately-held crypto hedge fund;

(2) the undisclosed special treatment afforded to Alameda on the FTX platform, including providing Alameda with a virtually unlimited “line of credit” funded by the platform’s customers and exempting Alameda from certain key FTX risk mitigation measures; and

(3) undisclosed risk stemming from FTX’s exposure to Alameda’s significant holdings of overvalued, illiquid assets such as FTX-affiliated tokens.

The complaint further alleges that Bankman-Fried used commingled FTX customers’ funds at Alameda to make undisclosed venture investments, lavish real estate purchases, and large political donations.

In addition to the SEC charges, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also announced charges against Sam Bankman-Fried.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, has just been arrested in the Bahamas, and is awaiting extradition by US authorities!

FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

On Monday, December 12, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried who is popularly known as SBF in the cryptocurrency community.

SBF was arrested after the United States government formally notified the Bahamas government that it filed criminal charges and is likely to request his extradition.

Attorney Damian Williams for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) confirmed that the request was made by the US government based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY.

USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022

When unsealed, charges that SBF potentially face include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. SBF could potentially face a life sentence in prison.

FTX Founder SBF Arrested : Official Statement

Here is the official statement issued by the Office of the Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs, of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Statement from the Attorney General of The Bahamas Sen. Ryan Pinder KC on the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried

On 12 December 2022, the Office of the Attorney General of The Bahamas is announcing the arrest by The Royal Bahamas Police Force of Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), former CEO of FTX.

BF’s arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against BF and is likely to request his extradition.

As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek BF’s arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation’s Extradition Act.

At such time as a formal request for extradition is made, The Bahamas intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States.

Responding to BF’s arrest, Prime Minister Davis stated, “The Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law. While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against BF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere.

December 12, 2022
Office of The Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs
Commonwealth of The Bahamas

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Kim Kardashian Fined $1.26 Mil For Promoting Crypto!

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Kim Kardashian just agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine for promoting cryptocurrency on Instagram! Here is what you need to know…

Kim Kardashian Fined $1.26 Million For Promoting Crypto!

On Monday, October 3, 2022, Kim Kardashian agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine for promoting the cryptocurrency, EthereumMax (not to be confused with Ethereum) on Instagram.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged that the reality TV star received $250,000 to advertise EthereumMax without disclosing she was paid to promote it.

She also agreed not to promote any crypto assets / securities for three years.

This case is a reminder that, when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors.

We encourage investors to consider an investment’s potential risks and opportunities in light of their own financial goals.

– SEC Chair Gary Gensler

The settlement comprised of a $1 million fine, seizure of the $250,000 payment she received, plus interest, coming up to a total of $1.26 million.

Despite the large sum, the fine will not bother Kim Kardashian too much. With a net worth estimated at $1.8 billion, the $1.26 million fine is roughly equivalent to an $85 fine for a typical US family with a net worth of $122,000.

Her lawyers hinted as much in the statement they released :

Ms. Kardashian is pleased to have resolved this matter with the SEC.

Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter.

She wanted to get this matter behind her to avoid a protracted dispute. The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits.

As you can tell – the fine was more like dust in her eyes than a lesson to learn from. I doubt it even feels like a slap on the wrist to her.

How Kim Kardashian Got Into Trouble Promoting Crypto…

On June 13, 2021, Kim Kardashian promoted a new cryptocurrency called EthereumMax (not to be confused with the famous and more established Ethereum) on Instagram.

Are you guys into crypto???? This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends told me about the Ethereum Max token!

A few minutes ago Ethereum Max burned 400 trillion tokens – literally 50% of their admin wallet giving back to the entire E-Max community.

#EMax #DisruptHistory #EthereumMax #WTFEMax #GIOPEmax @EthereumMax #Ad

Swipe up to join the E-Max Community

She had 225 million followers on Instagram at that time, and EthereumMax paid her $250,000 for that post.

Despite the misleadingly similar name, EthereumMax has no legal, business or technical connection to the Ethereum cryptocurrency. One could be forgiven for thinking that they were trying to mislead people into thinking that they are the same – they are not!

In January 2022, Kim Kardashian, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr, basketball player Paul Pierce and the creators of EthereumMax were sued by investors who alleged that the celebrities collaborated to “misleadingly promote and sell” the cryptocurrency in a “pump and dump” scheme.

In plain terms, EthereumMax’s entire business model relies on using constant marketing and promotional activities, often from ‘trusted’ celebrities, to dupe potential investors into trusting the financial opportunities.

The class action lawsuit filing pointed out that such promotion caused EthereumMax to increase more than 1,300% in value (the pump) before plummeting to “an all-time low” just over a month after Kim Kardashian promoted it.

It alleged that this enabled the defendants to sell EthereumMax tokens for “substantial profits” (the dump) before the inevitable crash in value.

It is unknown how many investors were hurt, but after the initial celebrity-fuelled surge, EthereumMax quickly tanked and never recovered.

This is another lesson in why you should not take investment advice from celebrities, especially when they are only famous for … being infamous?

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Putin Signs Law Banning Crypto Payments In Russia!

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Russian President Vladimir Putin just signed into law a national ban on crypto payments in Russia!

Find out what’s going on, and what it means for cryptocurrencies in Russia!

Putin Signs Law Banning Crypto Payments In Russia!

On July 16, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin just signed into law a national ban on crypto payments in Russia.

This move comes after the Central Bank of Russia proposed an outright ban on using cryptocurrencies for payments or investments.

This ban does not go so far – it only bans payments using cryptocurrencies, while allowing people to continue investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereal, as well as digital assets like NFTs.

The new Russian law, as translated by Google, states that :

It is prohibited to transfer or accept digital financial assets as a consideration for transferred goods, performed works, rendered services, as well as in any other way that allows one to assume payment for goods (works, services) by a digital financial asset, except as otherwise provided by federal laws.

While it prohibits individuals and companies from paying for, and receiving, cryptocurrencies for goods and services, it allows the Russian government to use cryptocurrencies.

It also does not prohibit investing in cryptocurrencies or digital assets like NFT, leaving that open for now.

Partial Crypto Ban Reflects A Russia In Quandary

This partial ban on cryptocurrency reflects Russia’s precarious financial situation after invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The Russian government had, prior to that, been skeptical, if not hostile, about cryptocurrency. But US and European sanctions are forcing them to hold back.

The lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, for example, just approved a draft bill on June 28 that would exempt cryptocurrency issuers from the Value Added Tax (VAT).

If passed by the upper house and signed into law by Putin, the lower house bill would also lower tax rates on income earned from selling cryptocurrencies – falling from 20% to just 13% for Russian companies, and 15% for foreign companies.

More recently, the Head of Russia’s Financial Policy Department even suggested that Russia could use cryptocurrencies to settle international payments.

Even Putin himself said that Russia had “certain competitive advantages” including a “surplus of electricity and well-trained personnel” to participate in crypto-mining, even though he is against using cryptocurrencies domestically.

If the Russian government chooses this path, it would be considered hypocritical in light of this ban on crypto payments in Russia. Cryptocurrencies are bad for the people, but good for the Russian government.

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Bitcoin Rebounds Above $20K, Ether Shoots Over $1,100!

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Bitcoin rebounded above $20,000 while Ether shot over $1,100, after experiencing record lows! Here is what you need to know…

Bitcoin Rebounds Above $20K, Ether Shoots Over $1,100!

After a terrible week, cryptocurrencies are getting a big respite with Bitcoin rebounding above $20,000. and ether shooting over $1,100!

Last Saturday, Bitcoin crashed through the $20,000 line, and smashed right through the $19,000 and $18,000 support lines. It hit a record low of $17,663.80, wiping out 12% of value in less than a day.

The $20,000 mark was psychologically-important because Bitcoin first hit it in December 2020. It was also the peak of its last bull run, when it hit a high of $19,834 in December 2017. Bitcoin had, for the first time, fallen below the peak of its prior bull run.

But it gradually recovered over Sunday, and actually rose above the $20,000 mark at 7 PM. After a short sell-off early Monday morning, it recovered to above $20,000.

Ether had a terrible Saturday too, falling from $1,069.70 to just $903.23 – wiping out 15.6% of its value in less than 24 hours!

But it recovered quickly, breaching $1,000 by Sunday morning, and then the $1,100 mark by Sunday evening.

Like Bitcoin, Ether saw a sell-off on Monday morning, but it recovered again and stayed above $1,100

Bitcoin + Ether Rally May Be Shortlived

Cryptocurrency investors and traders are sure to be relieved by the rally, which kept both Bitcoin and Ether above those psychologically critical $20,000 and $1,000 price levels, even though they had already breached them two days ago.

The rally seems to be fuelled by investors and traders looking to buy cheap coins. Both Bitcoin and Ether were over 70% and over 80% below their all-time highs of $68,990.90 and $4,865.57 respectively.

However, the Bitcoin rally seemed rather weak – it was vacillating around the $20,000 mark, unable to push above $21,000. Ether did better, staying above $1,000 and rising above $1,100 on Sunday and Monday.

It seems likely that this rally will be short-lived, and could be a short respite before a larger sell-off.

As inflation remains red hot, with rapidly rising interest rates amidst recession fears, there is significant pressure to sell risky cryptocurrencies.

Even though both cryptocurrencies are holding steady right now, be prepared for more sell-offs that could trigger a vicious cycle of forced selling and falling prices.

The 2022 Crypto Winter may have been delayed, and spring isn’t coming soon.

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Crypto Prices Tank : Bitcoin Below $19K, Ethereum Below $1K!

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Cryptocurrency prices continue to tank, with Bitcoin dipping below $19,000 and Ethereal sliding below $1,000!

Here is what you need to know…

Crypto Prices Tank : Bitcoin Below $19K, Ethereum Below $1K!

The week is ending on a bad note for cryptocurrencies, as prices continued to tank.

On early Saturday morning, Bitcoin crashed through the $20,000 line, and smashed right through the $19,000 line, trimming 7.4% of its value in less than 1.5 hours!

The $20,000 mark was psychologically-important because Bitcoin first hit it in December 2020. It was also the peak of its last bull run, when it hit a high of $19,834 in December 2017.

Bitcoin has, for the first time, fallen below the peak of its prior bull run; which may well spook traders, if not the HODLers.

It hit the bottom (so far) of $18,811.40 at 8:20 AM, before recovering slightly to hover around the $19,000 to $19,500 range.

Ethereum did even worse, falling from $1,069.70 to just $977.37 – wiping out 8.6% of its value in less than 2 hours!

It recovered, but hovered under $1,000 for most of the day, before dipping to another low of $978.91 at 4:50 PM.

Ethereal first hit $1,000 in January 2018, and never dropped below $1,000 after January 2021.

Will Bitcoin, Ethereum Prices Continue To Tank?

Bitcoin and Ethereum are now trading almost 60% lower, compared to last year; and Bitcoin is down over 72% from its all-time high of $68,990.90.

While many HODLers and crypto traders are hoping that this is the bottom, this may only be a short respite before a larger sell-off.

Investors may be forced to liquidate their positions after these psychological lines were breached, possibly triggering a vicious cycle of forced selling and falling prices.

As inflation remains red hot, with rapidly rising interest rates amidst recession fears, there is significant pressure to sell risky cryptocurrencies.

So look forward to more sell-offs, and both Bitcoin and Ethereum breaching more resistance levels. The 2022 Crypto Winter may well be here…

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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PS4 Consoles Now Used To Mine Cryptocurrency?

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Is it possible that cryptocurrency miners are now using Sony PS4 consoles to mine Bitcoin or Ethereum?

Take a look at the viral photo, and tell us what you think!

PS4 Consoles Now Used To Mine Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency miners have turned the gaming world upside down, buying up graphics cards and even gaming laptops in bulk. As long as it has a GPU, they are snatching it up!

But their demand for more computing power does not seem to be sated, and it appears that they may have turned their attention to PS4 consoles!

Take a look at this viral photo of a very ghetto-looking mining rig made up of sixteen PS4 Slim consoles.

How Much Money Can This PS4 Mining Rig Make?

We have no idea if it’s actually running, or just a work in progress though, because we never heard of anyone actually mining cryptocurrency on the PS4.

The PS4 and PS4 Slim use a custom AMD Radeon 7970M GPU, with 18 compute units and 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with 176 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

It is roughly 20% slower than the AMD Radeon 7970M mobile GPU, but cryptomining is less about processing power, and memory bandwidth.

So let’s just call PS4 Slim equivalent to the Radeon 7970M for mining purposes, which delivers a hash rate of about 8.35 H/s.

Each PS4 console would be fast enough to generate 0.00013896 BTC worth US$7.62 per month.

And that 16-console PS4 mining rig above would generate about 0.00222336 BTC worth US$121.92 per month.

Even if they are stealing electricity, that’s really not a lot of profit, to be honest…

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This RTX Laptop Mining Farm Could Make $3.5 Million / Year!

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Take a look at this crypto-mining farm that could make $3.5 million a year using just 900 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 gaming laptops!

Hundreds Of RTX Laptops Used In Crypto Mining Farms!

Not only gamers are affected by the limited supply of graphics cards in the market. So are cryptominers!

Chinese cryptominers now have to resort to buying up whatever GeForce RTX gaming laptops they can find, literally hundreds of them!

Instead of ASIC miners or GPU mining rigs, they are now powering their cryptomining operations with RTX gaming laptops!

We earlier highlighted the new trend of using RTX gaming laptops to mine cryptocurrency. It looks as this is more extensive that we first thought.

A Weibo blogger called 神鱼BTCer just shared even more pictures of RTX laptop-based mining operations, big and small.

Many appear to be pretty ghetto, placing the laptops in a kind of “tent mode” for better cooling, wherever there’s space – on tables, chairs or the floor.

But he also showed a seriously big crypto-mining farm being built using these GeForce RTX 30-series gaming laptops.

He even shared a short clip (part of the video we posted above), showing the cryptocurrency mining farm partially operational, with more being set-up.

There are 10 laptops per shelf, with each shelving unit capable of accommodating 60 laptops.

While not particularly large, this cryptocurrency mining farm has at least 15 visible shelving units, so that’s a total of 900 RTX gaming laptops when it’s fully operational.

Currently, it’s only partially complete, with about 200 or so laptops running, with many boxes of laptops left to open and setup.

How Much Money Can This RTX Laptop Mining Farm Make?

We had earlier shared about how a Bilibili content creator used an RTX 3060 laptop to mine 0.00053009 ETH while she sipped her coffee at Starbucks for 2 hours.

Based on her experience, we can guesstimate that the average GeForce RTX 3060 laptop will be able to produce :

0.000265045 ETH per hour
0.00636108 ETH per day
0.1908324 ETH per month (30 days)
2.3217942 ETH per year

Chinese electricity costs about RMB 0.545 (US$0.084) per kWh. Assuming each laptop uses about 250 watts of power (including whatever external fans they may be using), that works out to about RMB 1,200 or US$186 per year.

As of 11 February 2021, Ethereum is priced at US$1740. So here’s roughly how much this cryptocurrency mining farm would make, at that price :

100 laptops : $385,392 per year
200 laptops : $770,784 per year
300 laptops : $1,156,177 per year
400 laptops : $1,541,569 per year
500 laptops : $1,926,961 per year
600 laptops : $2,312,353 per year
700 laptops : $2,697,745 per year
800 laptops : $3,083,138 per year
900 laptops : $3,468,530 per year

So there you have it – this small cryptocurrency mining operation can potentially make almost US$ 3.5 million in a single year.

But what’s the ROI, you say?

The Chinese OEM, Hasee, offers a GeForce RTX 3060 gaming laptop with a starting price of just RMB 6,499 (approximately RM4,089 / US$1,005 / £732 / A$1,309 / S$1,340).

And the video shows that this mining operation is using the same, or similar, Hasee RTX gaming laptops.

Let’s say they paid a 20% scalper’s premium, and purchased all 900 Hasee RTX 3060 laptops for a cool US$1,085,400.

Let’s further round that up to US$1.1 million for miscellaneous costs – shelving units, lights, fans, etc. including US$500 per month for rental.

Based on those assumptions, their net profit for the 900-laptop mining farm would be US$2,368,530 per year, at current prices.

That’s an incredibly high ROI of 17.9% per month, which is 67% higher ROI than the 78-card GeForce RTX 3080 mining rig!

After recovering the cost of the entire mining farm ($1.1 million) in just over 3 months, everything else they make after that is pure profit (after deducting rental and electricity costs), unless they are stealing the electricity!

With such great ROI, you can count on cryptocurrency miners to buy up ALL the GeForce RTX 30 series laptops they can get their hands on!

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GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop Mining : Over 30% ROI?!

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Here is the new craze in cryptocurrency mining – GeForce RTX 3060 laptop mining rigs!

Take a look at new laptop mining rigs in China, and find out how much they can make!

GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop Mining : The New Craze!

Supplies of desktop graphics cards are low, and prices are sky-high, and here’s more bad news – miners are coming for the laptops too!

A Weibo blogger called 神鱼BTCer just shared photos of different GeForce RTX 30 series laptop mining rigs!

BTCer claims they are all “home-based”, but we have no idea whether they are his, or from different cryptocurrency mining operations.

But in a response to a question, he said that the best way to keep them cool is by putting them in a sort of “tent mode”.

This picture shows four stacks of GeForce RTX 3060 laptops made by Chinese OEM Hasee, powered on (you can see the green light).

Hasee offers a GeForce RTX 3060 gaming laptop that has a starting price of just RMB 6,499 (approximately RM4,089 / US$1,005 / £732 / A$1,309 / S$1,340).

These twenty Hasee GeForce RTX 30 series gaming laptops would cost just over US$20,000.

This seems like a waste of power – leaving their displays turned on. But leaving the display up would definitely improve cooling.

How Much Money Can RTX 3060 Laptop Mining Rigs Make?

A Bilibili content creator Fish Pond f2pool demonstrated how fast someone with a GeForce RTX 3060 laptop can “mine” cryptocurrency.

She plugged in her GeForce RTX 3060 laptop into a power socket at Starbucks, and mined 0.00053009 ETH over 2 hours while she sipped her coffee.

On 5 February 2021, Ethereum closed at US$1,680.497, so she mined enough during her coffee break to make US$0.89 or RMB 5.76.

Not quite enough to pay for her coffee (about RMB 28), but at least the electricity is FREE!

Based on her experience, we can guesstimate that the average GeForce RTX 3060 laptop will be able to produce :

0.000265045 ETH per hour
0.00636108 ETH per day
0.1908324 ETH per month (30 days)
2.3217942 ETH per year

So that mining rig with 20 Hasee laptops you saw up there could make, at current prices, about :

$8.908 per hour
$213.80 per day
$6,413.87 per month (30 days)
$78,035 per year

Chinese electricity costs about RMB 0.545 (US$0.084) per kWh.

Assuming each laptop uses about 250 watts of power (including whatever external fans he may have), that works out to about US$3,679.20 per year.

So his net profit for the 20-laptop mining rig would be US$74,356 per year, at current prices.

That’s an incredible ROI of 30.8% per month, which means he will recover the cost of the entire rig ($20,100) in just under 3.5 months!

This is actually 2.9X higher ROI than the 78-card GeForce RTX 3080 mining rig!

With such great ROI, you can count on cryptocurrency miners to buy up hoards of GeForce RTX 30 series laptops!

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78-Card GeForce RTX 3080 Mining Rig Powered Up!

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The mega crypto-mining rig, built using 78 GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards, has powered up!

Check it out, and find out why crypto-miners are buying graphics cards by the pallets!

78-Card GeForce RTX 3080 Mining Rig Almost Operational!

You may have seen Simon Byrne’s crypto-mining rig, that uses 78 GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards arranged in an array of 13 x 6 cards.

That 78-card RTX 3080 mining rig, which he calls Bertha 2, is almost operational. And he’s keeping it cool with 120 fans, with RGB, of course! It is said – RGB makes thing go faster? 😉

In this picture, you can see most of the GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards powered up. When fully operational, it should deliver 6.5 gigahashes per second!

In case you are wondering what Berta – his first-generation mining rig – looks like, here is a photo he shared :

He created Bertha 1 using 130 Zotac GeForce RTX 1080 Ti graphics cards, in January 2018 – 3 years ago!

How Much Money Can This RTX 3080 Crypto Mining Rig Make?

Just how much money can Simon make from this crypto-mining rig?

Officially, RTX 3080 cards start at $699, but due to the shortage of cards, they are now selling for about $1,199 each.

So the cards in this rig alone would cost approximately $93,522. Let’s call it a flat $100,000 for the whole rig, plus power supplies.

The average commercial electricity rate in Las Vegas (where he’s based) is 8.43 cents per kWh. So electricity should cost about $1444 per month. Let’s make that $2166 per month (+50%) to account for cooling costs.

Each GeForce RTX 3080 has a hash rate of 83.57 MH/s using the Ethash (Phoenix) algorithm, which should generate approximately 0.22236870 ETH worth US$165 every month.

So the total rig of 78 cards should generate 17.3447586 ETH worth $12,840 per month. Deducting electricity costs, that’s a net profit of $10,674 per month or $128,088 per year!

That’s an incredible ROI of 10.7% per month, which means he recovers the cost of the entire rig in just under 9.5 months.

No wonder crypto miners are buying up graphics cards by the pallets… at the expense of PC gamers all around the world!

Simon assured gamers that he doesn’t buy his cards from the regular retail supply chain. However, the large-scale purchase of graphics cards for crypto-mining is a major cause of graphics card shortage across the world.

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12-Card GeForce RTX 3090 Gigahash Mining Rig!

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Take a look at this crypto-mining rig that uses just a dozen GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards to generate over a gigahash per second!

Find out how much he stands to make from this mining rig!

12-Card GeForce RTX 3090 Gigahash Mining Rig!

It seems easy for crypto-miners to get hold of the GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card in bulk.

A crypto-miner is building a compact mining rig that uses just a dozen GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards to generate over a gigahash per second!

Guntis Vitolins, who recently lost 500 graphics cards in a fire, is using a dozen INNO3D GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards, powered by four EVGA SuperNOVA G3 1000 watt power supplies.

How Much Money Can This RTX 3090 Crypto Mining Rig Make?

Just how much money can Guntis make from this crypto-mining rig?

Officially, RTX 3090 cards start at US$1,499, but due to the shortage of cards, they are now selling for about US$2,450 each. The EVGA SuperNOVA G3 1000 PSU each cost US$309.

So the twelve cards would cost approximately US$29,400, while the four EVGA PSUs would cost US$1,236. Let’s call it a flat US$31,000 for the whole rig.

The average commercial electricity rate in Ireland (where he’s based) is about €0.2413 per kWh. So electricity should cost about €800 or US$965 per month. Let’s make that US$1450 per month (+50%) to account for cooling costs.

Each GeForce RTX 3090 has a hash rate of 104.48 MH/s using the Ethash (Phoenix) algorithm, which should generate approximately 0.23401064 ETH worth US$312.53 every month.

So the total rig of 12 cards should generate 2.80812768 ETH worth US$3,750 per month. Deducting electricity costs, that’s a net profit of $2,300 per month or $27,600 per year!

That’s a high ROI of 7.4% per month, which means he recovers the cost of the entire rig in about 13.5 months.

This is about 31% lower ROI than the 78-card mining rig that uses the much cheaper GeForce RTX 3080, which pays for itself in just 9.5 months!

No wonder crypto miners are buying up graphics cards by the pallets… at the expense of PC gamers all around the world!

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500 Radeon RX 5700 Cards Destroyed In Fire!

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500 brand new AMD Radeon RX 5700 graphics cards meant for crypto-currency mining just burned up in a fire!

500 Radeon RX 5700 Cards Destroyed In Fire!

On 27 January 2021, Guntis Vitolins shared pictures of 500 Radeon RX 5700 graphics cards that were just destroyed in a fire.

This is how looks 500x RX 5700 burned $eth

RX 5700 Fire Started In Welding Accident!

But here is where it takes a strange twist. It was not an actual “mining accident”, as we might expect.

A welding accident apparently started the fire at this warehouse, where he was building his mining rigs.

Some 500 of his Radeon RX 5700 graphics cards – all brand new, in boxes – were destroyed in the fire, and firefighting operation.

Fortunately for him, his mining rigs survived, and just needed to dry out from the water.

Another crypto-miner estimated that the 500 destroyed Radeon RX 5700 cards would cost about US$300,000.

But you would be hard-pressed to find 500 of these cards on Amazon!

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Crypto Mining Rig With 78 GeForce RTX 3080 Cards!

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Take a look at this crypto-mining rig powered by 78 GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards, and find out why crypto miners are buying graphics cards by the pallets!

Crypto Mining Rig With 78 GeForce RTX 3080 Cards!

Can’t find an affordable GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card? That’s because crypto-mining is one of the reasons why there is a shortage of graphics cards worldwide.

Here is a crypto-mining rig being built by Simon Byrne, using the 78 GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards arranged in an array of 13 x 6 cards.

With a power consumption of 300 watts per card, that’s crypto-mining rig would require at least 23.4 kilowatts of power to run, and a lot of air-conditioning to keep them cool!

Update : This GeForce RTX 3080 mining rig is almost operational!

How Much Money Can This RTX 3080 Crypto Mining Rig Make?

Just how much money can Simon make from this crypto-mining rig?

Officially, RTX 3080 cards start at $699, but due to the shortage of cards, they are now selling for about $1,199 each.

So the cards in this rig alone would cost approximately $93,522. Let’s call it a flat $100,000 for the whole rig, plus power supplies.

Each GeForce RTX 3080 has a hash rate of 83.57 MH/s using the Ethash (Phoenix) algorithm, which should generate approximately 0.22236870 ETH worth US$165 every month.

So the total rig of 78 cards should generate 17.3447586 ETH worth $12,840 per month. Deducting electricity costs, that’s a net profit of $10,674 per month or $128,088 per year!

That’s an incredible ROI of 10.7% per month, which means he recovers the cost of the entire rig in just under 9.5 months.

No wonder crypto miners are buying up graphics cards by the pallets… at the expense of PC gamers all around the world!

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